Vasectomies Gaining Popularity

Vasectomies Gaining Popularity

Vasectomies Gaining Popularity

Dan Lyke has never wanted children, so his decision to have a vasectomy was an easy one.

Lyke, 39, of Lagunitas, Calif., had a vasectomy seven years ago. He only wishes that he had done it sooner.

"Sometime in my early 20, I went from 'not in the foreseeable future' to 'never,'" said Lyke, who is single. "I've always seen children as an awful lot of work, probably because my parents went so out of the way in their raising of me and my siblings."

Lyke is similar to the 500,000 American men who decide each year that they do not want children -- or any more children -- and choose vasectomy as a permanent method of contraception.

Dr. Greg Barme, a urologist in Newport Beach, Calif., finds that his typical vasectomy patient is between 35 and 45 years old. He said he sometimes has to reiterate to patients during consultations that the procedure will make them sterile.

"Some people don't realize that it means no more kids," Barme said, adding that wives have usually said, "Go see this doctor and have this done."

Tango’s Take
If there’s one thing dudes like less than wearing condoms, it’s unwanted pregnancies (or possibly VD). Outside of the lasers (or scalpels) near a guy’s junk, we’re surprised that the vasectomy isn’t more popular. It’s not known to cause sexual problems (outside of sterility). With the exception of the lasers, it really is the most practical method of long-term birth control. No one misses a pill, no condoms break, no one kirks out because their hormones are out of whack. It’s too bad that the vasectomy provides no disease protective properties. The article above talks about the vasectomy like it’s irreversible (think a Burberry raincoat but less adorable), but we always thought that the vasovasectomy had a pretty good chance of working.